In this section

THEARNE AND WOODMANSEY

The villages of Thearne and Woodmansey,
lying respectively about 3 km. and 4½ km. southeast of Beverley, occupy the low-lying ground
between Beverley Parks and the river Hull. Both
places have largely lost their separate identities
as the result of ribbon development along the
Beverley-Hull road in the 20th century. The
names, meaning 'thorn tree' and 'woodman's
pool', were first recorded in the late 13th century
and are Anglian. There may also have been small
groups of houses at Sicey, the Anglian 'broad
pool', lying south of Thearne and first mentioned
at the same period, and at Sneerholmes, the
Scandinavian 'Snorri's water meadow', lying
east of Woodmansey and first mentioned in the
mid 14th century; (fn. 1) along with Thearne and
Woodmansey they were among the 'water towns'
of Beverley. (fn. 2) Woodmansey was part of the
township of Woodmansey and Beverley Parks,
and Thearne was a separate township; both
by c. 1800 were parishes for local government
purposes.

In 1852 Woodmansey contained 333 a.
(134.8 ha.) and Thearne 516 a. (208.8 ha.), and
a further 336 a. (136 ha.) were described as
intermixed between the two. (fn. 3) In the 1880s the
intermixed area was divided, 170 a. going to
Thearne and 155 a. to Woodmansey and Beverley Parks, (fn. 4) but the latter township was left with
a detached part of 42 a. lying in Thearne. In
1935 the two civil parishes were combined as
the civil parish of Woodmansey, which contained
3,804 a. (1,549.5 ha.). (fn. 5) In 1985 the civil parish,
then reckoned at 1,540 ha., was enlarged by the
addition of the neighbouring village of Dunswell,
comprising 330 ha. (fn. 6) Because some aspects of
the history of Thearne and Woodmansey are
difficult to disentangle, and because of the distinct character of Beverley Parks, Thearne and
Woodmansey are treated together here and the
Parks separately.

In neither Thearne nor Woodmansey does the
ground anywhere reach 7 m. above sea level and
large areas are covered with alluvium. Around
the villages, however, where there are patches
of boulder clay and sand and gravel, the ground
is sufficiently elevated not to have been liable to
drainage rates. (fn. 7) Until the early 17th century the
low grounds of both hamlets were drained by
dikes that entered the river close by. The inadequacy of the dikes and sluices, however, led to
frequent flooding not only of farmland but also
of the Beverley-Hull road and the road to the
ferry between Thearne and Wawne. In 1647,
therefore, the Court of Sewers for the East Parts
of the East Riding ordered that those grounds
should be drained by a dike leading southwards
through Skidby ings to a new sluice in Cottingham; the upkeep of the dike and sluice was
shared equally by the inhabitants of Thearne,
Woodmansey, and Skidby and the Wartons,
lords of the Water Towns manor. (fn. 8) Under an
Act of 1785 Thearne and Woodmansey were
removed from the jurisdiction of the Court of
Sewers and a new Beverley and Skidby Drainage
Board was formed. (fn. 9) The drainage award consequently made in 1788 set out Figham, North
Carr, Old Wife Carr, Park, Sicey, and Western
drains, all leading to the main or mother drain
which discharged water into the river at a sluice
in Sculcoates. The common pastures of Thearne
and Woodmansey were inclosed the same year,
and 700 a. of old and new inclosures were rateable to the drainage. (fn. 10) Drainage works in the
townships include the maintenance of flood
banks alongside the river. The work of the
Beverley and Skidby Drainage Board was taken
over in 1956 by the Hull and East Yorkshire
River Board, (fn. 11) the responsibilities of which had
passed to the Yorkshire Water Authority by
1987. Thearne and Woodmansey are also crossed
by the Beverley and Barmston drain, cut c. 1801
under an Act of 1798, but it has no part in their
drainage. (fn. 12)

Thearne and woodmansey, 1788

The main road from Beverley to Hull (fn. 13) runs
through Thearne and Woodmansey, in places
separating them from Beverley Parks; the nucleus of Thearne village lies over ½ km. east of
the road and that of Woodmansey close beside
it. It is possible that as a through road to Hull
it did not exist until the early 14th century. (fn. 14)
From the main road Long Lane runs westwards
into Beverley Parks and Thearne Road and
Thearne Lane eastwards to Thearne village.
Close to Thearne village a lane joining Thearne
Road and Thearne Lane was stopped up at
inclosure in 1788. (fn. 15) From Thearne another road
led to a ferry over the river Hull, to Wawne.
The ferry was mentioned in the mid 12th century (fn. 16) and contributed the comparatively large
sum of £3 or £4 to the value of the manor of
Beverley in the 14th and 16th centuries. (fn. 17) In the
20th century it had a pontoon for horses and
carts as well as a boat for foot passengers. It was
closed in the 1950s. (fn. 18) There was also a landing
place for goods near the ferry in the 19th century. (fn. 19)

The dozen houses of Thearne village include
five cottages built in 1833 (fn. 20) and later called
Chapel Row. Thearne Hall dates from the 19th
century. (fn. 21) A small piece of ground north of the
village was registered as common land in 1970. (fn. 22)
The houses of Woodmansey village formerly lay
on a short cul-de-sac known as King Street
which only since the Second World War has
been extended to loop back to the main road.
No. 4 King Street, the house of the Beverley
antiquary Gillyat Sumner (1793-1875), (fn. 23) dates
from the 18th century but was evidently much
altered after he bought it in 1825; at the side is a
doorway from Beverley guildhall which Sumner
installed at Woodmansey in 1836 (fn. 24) and in the
garden a turret from St. Mary's church, Beverley, which he bought in 1851. (fn. 25)

Away from the villages Snoreholm houses
were mentioned c. 1362 and Sneerholmes House
in the 17th century, (fn. 26) and there were presumably
houses at Sicey in the Middle Ages. (fn. 27) By the late
18th century, however, there were no houses at
either place. (fn. 28) In the early 19th century a dozen
houses were built on the commonable lands
which had been inclosed in 1788. Houses and
cottages built beside the main road at Woodmansey included three, put up by 1824, which
occupied encroachments made upon the road.
Other isolated farmhouses built by 1852 included
Kenley Reach Farm, Sicey Hall (later Sicey)
Farm, Woodmansey Grange, and those later
called Sicey Cottage and Sober Hall. Entick
House had been added by 1900. (fn. 29) Near the main
road at Thearne six smallholding houses were
built by Hull corporation in 1921-2, including
two known as New Farm. (fn. 30)

By 1900 a school and a church, (fn. 31) standing
roughly midway between Thearne and Woodmansey, had been added to the scattered buildings beside the main road. Ribbon development
along the road began in the 1920s and accelerated
after the Second World War. Rows of houses
and bungalows were built north and south of
Woodmansey village, and almost continuously
from the church to Plaxton's bridge; other houses were put up in Thearne Road and Thearne
Lane. (fn. 32) At Woodmansey more than 80 council
houses were built on an estate which eventually
joined the eastern end of the village to the main
road, (fn. 33) and 15 flats were added nearby in the
1980s. A village hall at the end of Long Lane
was opened in 1964. (fn. 34) A sewerage scheme for
the two villages, with a treatment works near the
river at Thearne, was completed in 1956. (fn. 35)

There was at least one licensed house at
Woodmansey in the late 18th and early 19th
century. (fn. 36) By 1812 a house on the south side of
the village street, adjoining the Beverley-Hull
road, was used as a public house; a cottage on
the opposite side of the street was then described
as lately so used. (fn. 37) By 1823 the house was called
the Altisidora and it retained that name after
Robert Dixon bought it in 1839. (fn. 38) By 1852 it
was called the Dixon's Arms. (fn. 39) It was rebuilt in
the 20th century.

There were 87 poll-tax payers at Thearne
and Woodmansey together in 1377, (fn. 40) and 8
households were liable to hearth tax in Thearne
and 36 in Woodmansey and Beverley Parks in
1672, besides 2 in Thearne and Woodmansey
that were exempt. (fn. 41) The population of Thearne
was 74 in 1801; it fluctuated during the 19th
century, with a maximum of 113 in 1861, and
stood at 97 in 1901. Between 1921 and 1931
numbers rose from 122 to 183. (fn. 42) At Woodmansey
there were 200 inhabitants in 1851 and 231 in
1861, but the population was not otherwise
recorded separately from that of Beverley Parks.
The population of Woodmansey and Beverley
Parks was 229 in 1801, rising to 429 in 1841 and
883 in 1881, before falling to 772 in 1901. (fn. 43) In
1881 there were 342 people at Victoria barracks,
Beverley Parks, and thereafter the barracks made
a significant contribution to numbers in the
township. In the 20th century the increase in the
population reflected house building in Beverley
Parks as well as in Thearne and Woodmansey.
Numbers rose from 785 in 1921 to 953 in 1931
and 2,312 in 1951, before falling to 1,648 in
1961, partly as a result of the closing of the
barracks. By 1971, however, they had risen to
1,968 and in 1981 there were 2,136 residents. (fn. 44)

ESTATES.

Thearne and Woodmansey belonged to the archbishop of York as appurtenances of the manor of Beverley until 1542. They
later formed part of the manor of Beverley Water
Towns, passing to C. A. Pelham in 1775. (fn. 45) Much
of the land in the townships was copyhold, of
which there were still c. 570 a. in 1899. (fn. 46)

C. A. Pelham's freehold estate in 1775 included 245 a. in Thearne and 31 a. in Woodmansey, and he was allotted 34 a. there for his
common rights at inclosure in 1788. (fn. 47) In 1806
the Pelhams sold a house and 258 a. in Thearne
and Woodmansey to George Knowsley, a Hull
merchant. (fn. 48) After Knowsley's death in 1809 the
house and 205 a. were conveyed in 1810 to John
Wray, a Hull banker, and in 1821 to J. R. Pease
(d. 1866), another Hull banker. (fn. 49) Pease's father,
also J. R. Pease (d. 1807), already had at least
89 a. in the two villages in 1788. (fn. 50) The younger
Pease bought another 22 a. in Thearne in 1824
and 41 a. there in 1865. (fn. 51) In 1898 most of the
estate, comprising 252 a. in Thearne and 23 a.
in Woodmansey, was sold by another J. R. Pease
(d. 1915) to Thomas Weatherill; it included
Entick House, Sicey Cottage, and Sicey Hall
farms. (fn. 52) After Weatherill's death in 1940 the
estate was split up and sold the next year; (fn. 53) the
largest part, the 101-a. Sicey (formerly Sicey
Hall) farm, going to Henry G. Moore. (fn. 54) Moore
died in 1948 and the estate passed to Frank
Moore, who sold Sicey farm in 1961 to Tom
and Molly Rodmell. (fn. 55) The Rodmell family still
owned it in 1987. (fn. 56)

In the early 17th century one of the largest
copyholds in Thearne was that of the Wardell
family of Hull Bank, in Cottingham. (fn. 57) John
Wardell (d. 1659) was succeeded by his son
John, after whose death in 1667-8 the holding
was evidently divided between his widow Theodosia and his daughter Margaret, who married
Thomas Westby. Margaret's son W. G. Westby
succeeded her in 1698 and in 1704 he inherited
Theodosia's share. Westby sold part of the
holding, comprising c. 75 a. and common rights,
to Henry Etherington in 1746. (fn. 58) Etherington
died in 1760 and his son Sir Henry Etherington
(d. 1819) (fn. 59) was allotted 33 a. at inclosure in
1788, when he also had more than 60 a. of old
inclosures in Thearne. (fn. 60)

A large part of the Etherington estate was sold
to Robert Ramsey of Beverley before 1814. (fn. 61)
After Ramsey's death in 1822 his house, then
known as Thearne Cottage, (fn. 62) and 76 a. were sold
in 1824 to William Wilkinson, (fn. 63) who conveyed
them in 1829 to James, later Sir James, Leighton.
After the latter's death F. S. Leighton sold the
estate in 1868 to Bryan B. Jackson (d. 1892). (fn. 64)
Thearne Hall (the former Cottage), Hall Farm,
and 85 a. were sold by Harold R. Jackson to
Thomas Weatherill in 1919. (fn. 65) After Weatherill's
death in 1940 William Weatherill sold the Hall
and 2 a. to William M. Wallis and Hall farm to
Geoffrey W. Newlove in 1941. (fn. 66) Wallis sold the
Hall to Newlove in 1942 and after several further
changes of ownership it belonged to Mr. and
Mrs. R. H. Spink in 1987. (fn. 67) Newlove gave
Hall farm to Geoffrey B. Newlove and Roy V.
Newlove in 1965; it was assigned to the former
in 1969 and the same year he gave an undivided
half share to his wife Vera. In 1987 Mr. and
Mrs. Newlove still owned the farm. (fn. 68)

Thearne Cottage, later called Thearne Hall,
was described in 1824 as 'lately enlarged, altered,
and improved' by Robert Ramsey. (fn. 69) It was later
said to have been built, presumably rebuilt, by
William Wilkinson. (fn. 70) It was occupied in 1856 by
George Barkworth, a Hull merchant. (fn. 71) The house
is a plain villa of white brick. Shelter belts of
trees surround the former estate.

The Baintons of Beverley Parks (fn. 72) also had
land in Thearne and Woodmansey, comprising
two farms of 210 a. altogether in 1900. (fn. 73) It was
sold, as three farms, in 1919-20. (fn. 74)

After the suppression of St. John's college, to
which they had belonged, (fn. 75) the tithes of Thearne
and Woodmansey were several times let by the
Crown (fn. 76) before they were granted in fee in 1613
to Francis Morrice and Francis Phillips. (fn. 77) They
were sold by them in 1615 to Sir William Cope,
Bt., from whom Sir Michael Warton bought
them in 1625. (fn. 78) Those of Thearne were worth
£11 and those of Woodmansey £12 a year to Sir
Michael Warton in 1650. (fn. 79) At the partition of
the Warton estates in 1775 the tithes of the
demesne estate passed to C. A. Pelham; they
were later sold with the land and were eventually
merged. (fn. 80) The rest of the tithes fell to the share
of Michael Newton, (fn. 81) and at the inclosure of
Thearne and Woodmansey in 1788 he was allotted 22 a. for those from the commonable lands. (fn. 82)

Tithes were still paid from the old inclosures.
In 1813, after Newton's death, those from 228 a.
in Thearne were sold to John Lockwood, (fn. 83) who
later divided and sold them. (fn. 84) Many tithes,
including some of those sold to Lockwood, were
later merged but those from 175 a. at Thearne
remained to be commuted in 1849, when rent
charges of £16 13s. were awarded to Edward
Page, £19 17s. 6d. to William Whytehead, and
£2 16s. to Edward Woolley. (fn. 85) The tithes from
c. 270 a. at Woodmansey were sold in 1812 to
the landowners (fn. 86) and, like the rest, they were
later merged. (fn. 87)

In 1535 the seven parsons of St. John's college
had property at Woodmansey worth £4 a year;
it comprised ½ bovate in Thearne and 2 bovates,
a close, and 5 houses in Woodmansey in 15423. (fn. 88)

ECONOMIC HISTORY.

It seems likely that
Thearne and Woodmansey had separate open
fields but the inhabitants may already in the
Middle Ages, as later, have intercommoned
in their meadows and pastures. The common
pasture of Thearne and Woodmansey was mentioned in 1303. (fn. 89) The inhabitants of Woodmansey evidently also had common rights in Figham
until the 13th century; the archbishop withdrew
those rights as part of the agreement which he
made with the townspeople of Beverley c. 1255,
and which was confirmed in 1282. (fn. 90) In 1310 the
archbishop ordered that land, with meadow and
pasture, held of him in the townships should be
measured and let to tenants, (fn. 91) but the circumstances were not recorded. Rents from tenants
at Thearne and Woodmansey made a modest
contribution to the value of the manor of Beverley. For example, in 1340 at Thearne bond and
customary tenants' rents amounted to less than
£2 and in 1542-3 c. £6 15s. In the same years
at Woodmansey free and customary tenants
rendered a little over £1 and nearly £7. Larger
sums were received from the farm of the demesnes. In 1340 five holdings in Sicey produced
£5, East Carr in Thearne £10, demesne land
of at least 27 a. in Woodmansey £1 8s., and
Sneerholmes and the ferry together £3. In 15423 Sicey produced over £9, the 72-a. East Carr
£8, and Sneerholmes and the ferry £4. (fn. 92)

The open fields of Woodmansey evidently still
existed in 1548, when a holding there included
several bovates of land; there was also a common
meadow called Firth. (fn. 93) Both fields and meadow
had, however, been inclosed by the early 17th
century, when those of Thearne were still in
existence. In 1622 there were 13 customary
tenants at Thearne holding 5 houses, 9 cottages,
5½ bovates of open-field land, half a dozen closes,
½ a. in Crift ings, and ½ beast gate in Ox pasture;
they rendered 15 'lake hens'. At Woodmansey
that year there were 20 customary tenants holding 4 houses, 16 cottages, about 35 closes, 7½ a.
in Crift ings, 23¾ beast gates in Ox pasture, 14½
beast gates in the moor and 1 in the commons,
and several small parcels in Warlotts; they rendered 16 'lake hens'. Four of the closes were
called North fields, perhaps indicating a former
open field lying north of the village, and one
tenant had 2 bovates divided into 5 closes. Five
tenants each had a Firth close, presumably in
the former meadow. The townships were said
to have two commons, North carr and Wyth
carr. The tenants of Woodmansey were allowed
½ a. to keep a bull. (fn. 94) Some ridge-and-furrow
survived south of the village in 1987. The open
fields of Thearne, evidently called East and West
fields, were inclosed by the mid 17th century.
Thus in 1659 John Wardell's 2½ bovates consisted
of 20 a. in 4 closes in East field and 8 a. in a
close in West field. They lay on the higher
ground around the village and some ridge-andfurrow west of the village survived in 1987. The
moor had also been inclosed by the mid 17th
century, for tenants had only closes and small
parcels of land there. The other common pastures remained. They included the summer
pasture, perhaps that later called Thearne pasture. Old Wife carr, perhaps the earlier Wyth
carr, was mentioned in 1694. (fn. 95) Land in both
townships was used as pasture by Michael Warton, as lord of the Water Towns manor, and at
his death in 1688 he had 80 cattle at Thearne. (fn. 96)

The remaining commonable lands in Thearne
and Woodmansey were inclosed in 1788, under
an Act of 1785. (fn. 97) There were then 40 common
rights in Thearne common (presumably North
carr) and 36 in Thearne pasture. Only two people
had an interest in both Crift ings and Ox
pasture. (fn. 98) Allotments were made totalling 260 a.,
of which 112 a. were from North carr, 61 a. from
Thearne pasture, 55 a. from Old Wife carr,
25 a. from Ox pasture, and 6 a. from Warlotts;
common rights in Crift ings were extinguished
by an exchange between the two proprietors.
There were eight allotments of 10-50 a. each
and thirteen of under 10 a. The award also
dealt with a small plot at the eastern end of
Woodmansey village which had presumably
been an outgang to Figham before rights there
were lost c. 1255.

In the 19th and 20th centuries there were c.
8 farmers in Thearne and 5 in Woodmansey,
but many men were engaged in other agricultural
pursuits. (fn. 99) A market gardener worked at Woodmansey by 1823 and the number of gardeners
rose to about 15 in the two townships later in
the century. Horticulture was boosted in the
1930s by the introduction of Dutch methods,
principally by Cornelis Los and Johannes van
Staalduine. (fn. 100) There were still several acres of
market gardens and glasshouses in 1987. A large
part of the townships was still devoted to pasture
in the 20th century, (fn. 101) and half a dozen cowkeepers and dairymen supplied milk to Beverley. (fn. 102)
Several smallholdings were established at
Thearne in 1921, when Hull corporation bought
112 a. for the purpose. (fn. 103) There have also been a
few animal and corn dealers, and a fellmonger.
George Wiles of Woodmansey was recorded as
a fellmonger from 1905 and Charles Wiles (d.
1954) from 1921. Charles, who later worked
in partnership with his brothers, bought 5 a.
adjoining Figham in 1917 and built a factory
there; in 1925 he bought another 7 a., on part of
which he built Dunwood House soon after for
his own residence. A further 22 a. were acquired
in 1951. (fn. 104) About 1950 the firm changed to the
production of chemical fertilisers and bone meal.
The much enlarged factory was sold in 1964 to
Hargreaves Fertilizers but the business continued to be managed by the Wiles family. (fn. 105) In
1984 Dunwood House was used as the firm's
offices.

A windmill for corn formerly standing at
Thearne was recalled in 1625, (fn. 106) but none was
mentioned again until 1815. (fn. 107) The new mill
stood on ground inclosed in 1788. (fn. 108) Steam power
was added by 1856. (fn. 109) The mill was last used c.
1913 (fn. 110) and was later demolished; mill-stones
stood at the roadside in 1984. The last miller,
Moses Copeland (d. 1931), became a corn dealer
after the closure of the mill. (fn. 111)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT.

Officers to serve
Thearne and Woodmansey were appointed by
Beverley corporation in the late 16th century (fn. 112)
and at the Beverley Water Towns manorial
court in the 17th and 18th centuries. Those for
Woodmansey usually also served Beverley Parks.
Each township normally had a constable, one or
two overseers of the poor, a surveyor of highways, one or two bylawmen, and a pennygrave. (fn. 113)
Both townships probably had poorhouses in
the early 19th century. For Woodmansey and
Beverley Parks in 1816 there were two cottages
built by the township and occupied rent-free by
paupers, and that year it was proposed to build
two more. (fn. 114) The surviving overseers' account
book for Thearne for 1757-1828 mentions a
poorhouse, presumably in the township, and
also the workhouse, probably the one in Beverley. (fn. 115) One person in Thearne and one in Woodmansey had indoor relief between 1812 and
1815. (fn. 116) Both townships joined Beverley poorlaw union in 1836 (fn. 117) and remained in Beverley
rural district (fn. 118) until 1974, when they became
part of the Beverley district of Humberside.
Woodmansey had a parish council under the Act
of 1894. (fn. 119)

CHURCH.

The townships, part of St. John's
parish, Beverley, may have been served in the
Middle Ages by the prebendary of St. Peter in
the collegiate church, who enjoyed the tithes
there. (fn. 120) Baptisms, marriages, and burials usually
took place in the minster. (fn. 121) There was a chantry
chapel at Thearne dedicated to St. Mary. In
1378 the archbishop was licensed to give a plot
of land to a chaplain who would celebrate in a
chapel to be built upon it by Richard of Thearne,
canon of Beverley, and in 1390 Richard and
others were licensed to make endowment for the
chaplain at St. Mary's altar in the chapel. (fn. 122) In
1535 the total rents received, £5 6s. 8d., included
£1 from Thearne and in 1548 the chantry was
worth over £6 net. (fn. 123) After its suppression the
chapel, described as in Woodmansey, was
granted by the Crown to Edward Pease and
William Winlove in 1549 and it was also
included in a grant to Beverley corporation
in 1585. (fn. 124) Chapel garth, perhaps the site of the
chapel, was mentioned in the 17th century (fn. 125) but
its location is not known.

A chapel of ease at Woodmansey was mentioned in 1851 (fn. 126) and was held in the former
Church Methodist chapel until 1856, (fn. 127) when
the newly built school there was licensed for
worship. (fn. 128) The school was also licensed for
marriages in 1886. (fn. 129) Woodmansey and Thearne
were served by St. John's parish burial ground
in Queensgate, Beverley, which was consecrated
in 1861. (fn. 130) In 1898 a new chapel of ease and
chapel yard, standing beside the Beverley-Hull
road between Thearne and Woodmansey, were
consecrated. (fn. 131) The chapel was licensed for
marriages in 1900. (fn. 132)

The chapel was served by assistant curates
from the minster. A weekly service was held by
1865, and communion was celebrated five times
in 1868, monthly by 1877, fortnightly by 1884,
and on two Sundays in three by 1931; there were
usually up to a dozen communicants. (fn. 133)

The so-called church of St. Peter was built in
1896-7 at the expense of William Bainton of
Beverley Parks to designs by Alfred Beaumont. (fn. 134)
It is of red brick with stone dressings, in a
Gothic style, and comprises chancel with south
tower over a vestry and nave with south porch.

NONCONFORMITY.

Houses at Thearne were
registered for worship in 1781, by Methodists,
and 1790. Wesleyan Methodist services there
ceased in 1827. (fn. 135) A meeting house at Woodmansey registered in 1821 was possibly used by
Wesleyan Methodists, who held services in the
village between 1810 and the 1830s. (fn. 136) A Church
Methodist chapel was built at Woodmansey in
1825 but had not been opened by the next
year; the site was given by Gillyat Sumner and
adjoined his garden. (fn. 137) The chapel was used by
the Church of England in 1856 (fn. 138) and was later
demolished. In 1865 there was no regular place
of worship but Methodists held occasional meetings at Woodmansey and there were about 20
'ranters' in the two villages. (fn. 139) A Primitive
Methodist chapel was built at Thearne in 1867
and registered in 1869. (fn. 140) It was enlarged in 1952 (fn. 141)
but was closed in 1958 (fn. 142) and used as offices in
1984. Particular Baptists began to hold services
in a cottage at Woodmansey c. 1867 and a chapel
was built there, at the east end of King Street,
in 1872. (fn. 143) It was used until the Second World
War (fn. 144) but was later demolished.

EDUCATION.

No school was recorded in
either village before the mid 19th century. A
school to serve both places and Beverley Parks
was built on the Hull-Beverley road south of
Woodmansey in 1855 and opened the next year.
A school house was added by 1889. The school
was united with the National Society. The
schoolroom, which was also used for church
services, is in a plain early Gothic style. The
attendance in 1856 was 60. (fn. 145) The school received
its first annual government grant in 1857-8. (fn. 146)
There were 33 children in attendance on inspection day in 1871. (fn. 147) From 1906 to the 1920s there
were c. 55 pupils, rising to c. 80 in the 1930s. (fn. 148)
An additional classroom was built in 1935. Pupils
aged 12 and over were transferred to Longcroft
County Secondary school in 1950 and 11-yearolds to Cottingham County Secondary school
in 1955 until the completion of a school at
Molescroft. For the remaining children at Woodmansey another classroom was built in 1962. (fn. 149)
There were 75 pupils on the roll in 1986. (fn. 150)
Income from Anne Routh's charity was shared
with other elementary schools in St. John's
parish. (fn. 151)